


love like you.

by layuh



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Father son relationship, Fluff, Gen, Infinity War, Irondad, NO ENDGAME SPOILERS!, One Shot, Short, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, angst at the end oops, intended lowercase, none! - Freeform, not ship!, platonic, spiderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2020-03-02 21:35:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18819457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/layuh/pseuds/layuh
Summary: tony never quite understood why peter stayed.





	love like you.

**Author's Note:**

> hello! if you didn't read the tags, i'm here to tell you that this is contains NO ENDGAME SPOILERS whatsoever! also the song used in this fic is 'love like you' by rebecca sugar i do not own it in any way shape or form! :)

_if i could_

_begin to be_

_half of what you think of me,_

tony came to the conclusion a while ago that there would be things he may never understand.

but this? this had to be the greatest mystery of them all. peter parker entered the older man's life and he had meant to keep his distance- he really had, but peter wormed his way into tony's heart. 

as tony works on upgrades for peter's suit and the boy looks at him with bright eyes full of admiration, a shining smile, curls flopped over his forehead, vibrating with excitement- tony wonders  _what in the world_ he had done to deserve the warm feeling it ignites in his heart.

_i could do about anything_

_i could even learn how to love._

tony was trying. god, he was trying so hard to keep peter happy. the funny thing is, tony slowly learns along the way that he didn't have to try. tony once  _sneezed_ and it caused the boy to giggle his contagious little laugh, making tony's lips curl upwards into a fond smile subconsciously.

despite the fact he doesn't have to try, it sure as hell doesn't stop him from doing just that.

_when i see the way you act_

_wondering when i'm coming back_

_i could do about anything_

on days where peter was picked up from school by happy, he was always there earlier than tony was, due to whatever stupid meeting tony was impatiently sitting through beforehand.

whenever tony would walk into the main room, seeing peter jump to his feet with a bright smile, grabbing his ratty bookbag, and running tony's way, yelling out a loud "hey, tony!"- it never failed to make his heart do that twisty thing it always did when he saw him.

_i could even learn how to love like you_

_love like you._

peter's weekends at the compound had to be tony's favorite moments of his whole damn life.

weekends at the compound meant movie nights full of laughter, dad jokes, and peter dozing off with his head in tony's lap.

weekends at the compound meant mornings where the two woke up in the position they fell asleep in beforehand, ensuing comfortable cuddles, tony threading his fingers through peter's curls as they watched the sun rise, basking in the warmth it provided.

in those moments, when tony looked down at peter's face, an orange hue of warmth engulfing his soft skin, a small content smile on his face, and his hazel eyes half lidded as he blinked away the last traces of sleep- he knew that- yes, he loved peter parker.

_i always thought i might be bad_

_now i'm sure that it's true_

_'cause i think you're so good_

_and i'm nothing like you._

in comparison to peter parker, tony was nothing. he was merely a speck of dust, whereas peter was a glowing and radiant sun, bright and selfless. caring and kind.

what tony felt wasn't jealousy- no, what he felt was pride. it swelled in his chest and consumed him, filling his heart.

he truly couldn't help it. whether it be a story from patrol, an A on his spanish test, working in the lab, even him smiling- it always caused the feeling to return and take its rightful place, setting its course out to the rest of tony's body, making his fingertips itch to play with the boy's hair or give him a wide hug.

as tony let himself be eaten alive slowly by this pride, he decided that it was the best form of torture.

_look at you go, i just adore you_

_i wish that i knew_

_what makes you think i'm so special._

nothing compared to peter's eyes.

they were wide and hazel, full of trust, admiration, love, kindness, determination, and occasionally tears.

peter's eyes played at tony's heartstrings, plucking them like a guitar. his eyes filled tony with love and confusion.

love, because he doesn't think words could ever describe how loved he feels in the moments in which their eyes meet. confusion, because he doesn't understand how someone like  _peter_ was able to muster all of those emotions for someone like  _him._

tony knows millions of things about peter parker, but a million more things will forever remain mysteries.

_if i could begin to do something that does right by you_

_i would do about anything_

_i would even learn how to love._

tony wishes he had all the right words to say, the right actions to do, the right ability to parent- but alas, he would never perfect all categories. tony was angry that he couldn't. he was angry that he would never be able to reach perfection because that's exactly was peter  _deserved_. he deserved perfection and beyond.

another thing to add to the list of 'things tony will never understand' is how peter still loves and cares for him despite him not being able to perfect anything.

_when i see_

no.

_the way you look_

please, please no.

_shaken by how long it took_

anyone but him,  _anyone_ , please.

_i could do about anything_

tony couldn't do anything. peter's eyes- once full of happiness and hope- were now clouded by dust and full of fear and desperation.

_i would even learn how to love like you_

peter-  ~~more accurately, what was left of peter~~ -stumbled into his arms, blindly trusting tony to catch him. peter went down, tony with him. the taste of ash was thick on tony's tongue, which he was biting hard enough to draw blood.  ~~idontfeelsogoodidontfeelsogood~~     ~~idontwannagosirpleaseidontwannago~~   ~~imsorryimsorryimsorry~~.

_love like you._

peter vanished, tony screamed. peter was in his hands. but it wasn't hugs, or cuddles, or playful fighting. it was ash. it was  _death._

_love me like you._

 


End file.
